Teacher Appreciation Letter

The following is a letter I wrote to our school district in
appreciation of one of our daughter's teachers. Take a moment to
think of a teacher who has made a difference in your child's
life, and write a letter. Tell your school district how
you feel. Help change our society's attitudes toward childhood
education, one letter at a time.

Dear (principal),

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to chaperone Hanford
Middle School students at the Mid-Columbia Science Fair, and I
couldn't help but notice how well represented Hanford Middle
School was at this exciting all-day event. It was hard not to
notice that Hanford was one of the only Tri-City middle schools
that participated. A number of Hanford students brought home some
outstanding awards. What an achievement!

It is my opinion that Hanford's involvement at the Mid-Columbia
Science Fair is largely due to efforts of Hanford Middle School
science teacher Laurie Eaton. Mrs. Eaton is one of the few
teachers who requires her students to complete a science project,
which can then be entered in the Hanford and Mid-Columbia Science
Fairs. While many of the students (and parents) go into the
projects with some reluctance at the time and effort required to
complete such a project, I have no doubt that most students leave
the science fairs with a great sense of accomplishment as the
result of their efforts.

Mrs. Eaton walks her students through their science projects from
beginning to end, ensuring a very valuable learning experience
that will also benefit them in future academic endeavors. The
value of these achievements can not be overemphasized. It hasbeen
my experience, however, that parents and students alike often
give teachers such as Mrs. Eaton a hard time because of the time
and effort she requires of her students, especially at the
sixth-grade level.

Kids are never too young to be taught how to learn, and a parent
would be hard pressed to give their child more academic
challenges than they could handle. When our children complain
about too much homework or we as parents don't take the time out
of our busy lives to sit down with our kids and help them with
challenging assignments, it's easy to blame teachers for
expecting so much of our children. But who really ends up being
hurt?

So many kids leave high school with no sense of who they are and
what they want to be when they grow up. They are never too young
to work hard and be expected to do their best in school, and in
life, for that matter. Our daughter has set some pretty lofty
goals for herself, and the only way she will be able to
accomplish those goals is if she starts working very hard towards
those goals--and now, in the sixth grade. My husband and I don't
push our daughter to succeed, she pushes herself. She knows her
goals are hers and hers alone, and that accomplishing them will
benefit herself and others, earning her the self confidence
lacking in so many kids today. That is the attitude we should be
instilling in our children, and Mrs. Eaton is one of the few
teachers I can personally rely on to teach our daughter at school
as much as we teach her at home.

Thank you for your time, and thank you for investing in our
child's future by hiring teachers that really make a difference
in her life.

Sincerely,
Rachel Paxton

cc: school district superintendent

Originally published at Suite 101. Rachel Paxton is a freelance
writer and mom of four. For complete resources for the Christian
home, visit her web site at http://www.Christian-Parent.com.